Bill Caton

Bill Caton

Personal information
Full name	William Clifford Caton
Date of birth	(1924-09-11)11 September 1924
Place of birth	Kidsgrove, Stoke-on-Trent, England
Date of death
Place of death	Cross Heath, Newcastle-under-Lyme, England
Position(s)	Inside forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1947–1949	Stoke City	22	(2)
1949–1952	Carlisle United	61	(15)
1952–1953	Chesterfield	7	(0)
1953–1954	Worcester City
1954–1955	Crewe Alexandra	39	(9)
1955–1957	Gresley Rovers	56	(24)
1957–1958	Mossley	4	(0)
Total		189	(50)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

William Clifford "Bill" Caton (11 September 1924 – 16 August 2011) was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Carlisle United, Chesterfield, Crewe Alexandra and Stoke City.

Army career

Caton joined the Second Field Regiment Royal Artillery during World War II and was captured and incarcerated by the Nazi's in Italy. He managed to escape the prison camp by hiding in vehicle and jumping out of it once it had left the camp.

Football career

After leaving the Army in 1947 Caton started playing football for his local side Stoke City however he was never a favourite with manager Bob McGrory being used mostly as a reserve team player and left for Bill Shankly's Carlisle United in 1949. He later went on to play for Chesterfield, Worcester City, Crewe Alexandra, Gresley Rovers and Mossley. Caton was able to throw the ball a long way similar to that of Rory Delap. He died on 16 August 2011 at the age of 86.

Career statistics

Club	Division	Season	League		FA Cup		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Stoke City	First Division	1947–48	3	1	0	0	3	1
	First Division	1948–49	10	1	0	0	10	1
	First Division	1949–50	9	0	0	0	9	0
	Total		22	2	0	0	22	2
Carlisle United	Third Division North	1949–50	3	1	0	0	3	1
	Third Division North	1950–51	31	7	2	0	33	7
	Third Division North	1951–52	27	7	1	0	28	7
	Total		61	15	3	0	64	15
Chesterfield	Third Division North	1952–53	7	0	3	0	10	0
	Total		7	0	3	0	10	0
Crewe Alexandra	Third Division North	1954–55	39	9	1	0	39	9
	Total		39	9	1	0	39	9
Career Total			129	26	7	0	136	26

External links

• Bill Caton stats at Neil Brown stat site
• Gresley Rovers profile at Gresley F.C.